Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Pelosi's Favorability Hits New Low

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's favorable rating is down seven percentage points since May to 29%, a new low for her since assuming the top congressional post.

Pelosi's ratings were 2-to-1 positive, 44% to 22%, when she first assumed the speakership in January 2007, but they became closely divided by March of that year and remained so in November 2008. Views became more negative than positive for the first time in the first half of 2009, possibly because of Pelosi's public stance against the CIA's use of "enhanced interrogation" of terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay prison, and her dispute with the CIA over whether she had been briefed on the matter. Spanning the period these issues were in the news, her favorable rating fell from 42% to 32%. Pelosi's favorable rating recovered slightly in the first half of 2010 to 36%, but it has since tumbled to the new low.

Nice try by Gallup to rationalize it, but it's her supreme arrogance, smugness and condescension toward the America people that explains why she's in the gutter. There isn't a voter alive today that is voting against the Democrats because of her stance on Club Gitmo. Here's a clue to help them figure it out. There was an event six months ago that enraged the public.

Pelosi's image has gone from bad to worse in recent months, with independents, in particular, growing more critical of her. Her resulting 2-to-1 negative to positive image presents a challenge for congressional Democrats as they try to convince voters to send them back to Washington for another term. While President Obama may be of some benefit on the campaign trail in terms of firing up the Democratic base to turn out, Pelosi's subdued favorability among Democrats and highly negative image among independents suggest she is a far riskier person for Democratic candidates to be associated with -- something Republicans who are using her in ads against their opponents have already concluded.